of monday's midnight deadline for the fiscal cliff. failure could kick the country back into a recession. wyatt andrews is on capitol hill. >> reporter: today the halls of the senate were almost empty, as proposals got traded in private and over the phone. senate minority leader much mcconnell tried to sound upbeat. going to get a deal today sir? >> hope. so. >> reporter: house speaker boehner came to the capitol but left without comment. issue number one in the talks is amending the bush era tax cuts, which if unchanged will expire and raise taxes on all americans. starting tuesday, the average tax hike will be three to 5% per person. >> let's keep taxes exactly where they are on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. >> reporter: the president campaigned to increase taxes only on families making more than $250,000 per year. almost two weeks ago, the president offered a compromise to raise taxes only on income above 400,000, hoping that might win republican support. >> i have gone at least halfway. >> reporter: the senate is also n